Quiet

Author: Susan Cain
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Penguin House Random Audio Publishing Group, 2018
Pages: 10 discs (368 pages)
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking: who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts - Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak - that we owe many of the great contributions to society.

In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts-from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves.

Review: This wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was interesting. There were a few takeaways. This won't be one of my favorite books in this genre, but eh, it was good enough.

Eventually I gave up trying to determine exactly what type of introvert I am, and instead listened to it as a parent. Both of my girls are introverts, but don't have the same personality. I was curious to see what words of wisdom the author had as far as making each of them comfortable in their lives, and how to guide them in their lives.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Author: Gail Honeyman
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2018
Pages: 352
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she's thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.

But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it's Raymond's big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.

Review: This was on my to-read list forever. I heard so many good things about, with a few of the "I just didn't get it" reviews thrown in. Put me in the "loved it" camp. 

Initially Eleanor made me feel uncomfortable and "squirmy," but she quickly became charming and endearing. Her internal dialogue was so good, laugh out loud funny at times.

There's a twist at the end I didn't see coming too, and I'm not sure how I felt about it. Overall, I give this book 4 3/4 stars out of 5.

Summer of '69

Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company, 2019
Pages: 432
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Welcome to the most tumultuous summer of the twentieth century. It's 1969, and for the Levin family, the times they are a-changing. Every year the children have looked forward to spending the summer at their grandmother's historic home in downtown Nantucket. But like so much else in America, nothing is the same. Blair, the oldest sister, is marooned in Boston, pregnant with twins, and unable to travel. Middle sister Kirby, caught up in the thrilling vortex of civil rights protests and determined to be independent, takes a summer job on Martha's Vineyard. Only-son, Tiger is an infantry soldier, recently deployed to Vietnam. Thirteen-year-old Jessie suddenly feels like an only child, marooned in the house with her out-of-touch grandmother and worried about her mother, each of them hiding a troubling secret. As the summer heats up, Ted Kennedy sinks a car in Chappaquiddick, man flies to the moon, and Jessie and her family experience their own dramatic upheavals along with the rest of the country.

Review: This is the perfect summertime read. I loved reading about 1969, I loved the characters, I loved each story line. This novel had a it all.I truly felt as though I was saying good-bye to real people when I closed the book.

There are three authors who cannot write and publish books quickly enough, Elin Hilderbrand, Diane Chamberlain, and Melinda Leigh.

Other Elin Hilderbrand Novels:
The Five-Star Weekend
The Blue Bistro
Golden Girl
The Hotel Nantucket
The Island
The Castaways

The Winter Street Series
Winter Street
Winter Stroll
Winter Storms
Winter Solstice

The Winter in Paradise Trilogy
Winter in Paradise
What Happens in Paradise
Troubles in Paradise

Radio Girls

Author: Sarah-Jane Stratford
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2016
Pages: 384
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: London, 1926. American-raised Maisie Musgrave is thrilled to land a job as a secretary at the upstart British Broadcasting Corporation, whose use of radio - still new, strange, and electrifying - is captivating the nation. But the hectic pace, smart young staff, and intimidating bosses only add to Maisie's insecurity.

Soon, she is seduced by the work - gaining confidence as she arranges broadcasts by the most famous writers, scientists, and politicians in Britain. She is also caught up in a growing conflict between her bosses, John Reith, the formidable Director-General of the BBC, and Hilda Matheson, an extraordinary director of the hugely popular Talks programming, who each have very different visions of what radio should be. Under Hilda's tutelage, Maisie discovers her talent, passion, and ambition. But when she unearths a shocking conspiracy, she and Hilda join forces to make their voices heard both on and off the air. . .and then face the dangerous consequences of telling the truth for a living.

Review: What the synopsis doesn't tell you is that this is actually a history of the BBC and of England at this time, but done in the historical fiction genre. Many of the characters were real, although the author took some liberty with the details of their lives and their motivation. Maisie herself is the author's creation.

I started listening to the audio, which I was actually enjoying, but there seemed to be an issue with the CDs themselves so I switched to print. I never became fully engrossed in the story, and at the end of the day "okay." I felt a bit lost by some of the events and I do have limited knowledge of English history, certainly post World War I, as if the book was written somehow above me. At the end of the day, this is skippable. There are better books out there.

The cover is also compelling, and I love the art deco accents. Fitting for the time period.

Ever Faithful

Author: Karen Barnett
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group, 2019
Pages: 352
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: It's 1933 and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal shines like a light against the dark despair of the Great Depression. The government gives unemployed young men an opportunity of a lifetime, but it will mean leaving the cities to brake the untamed West. 

Nate Webber takes a chance to help his family by signing up for the new Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Although he hides a shameful secret, Nate exchanges the harsh Brooklyn streets for the wilds of Yellowstone National Park, curious to see if the Eden-like wonderland can transform him as well.

Elsie Brookes was proud to have grown up as a ranger's daughter but longs for a future of her own. After four years serving as a maid in the park's hotels, she still hasn't saved enough for her college tuition. A second job, teaching a crowd of rowdy men in the CCC camp, might be the answer. Elsie is drawn to the beautiful spark within Nate, but she knows the scars she carries are far too ugly for any man to love.

When tragedy strikes the park, threatening to undo all she's done to leave her past behind, can Nate and Elsie uncover the truth before all their dreams go up in smoke?

Review: I love this series! Book #3 in the Vintage National Parks series did not disappoint; in fact, it may be my favorite one yet. I find it so easy to get lost in these novels. The history of the parks, a sweet little love story. It hits all the right notes.

I was in the middle of another book, which I was enjoying as well, but nothing trumps a vintage parks novel. I started reading it as soon as I got home from the library.

Yellowstone has been on our list of places to visit for quite some time, and we seem to have serious conversations about making this trip a priority other year or so. I've started researching where to stay, what features we want to see, and many of the things I've read about online are mentioned in this book, of course.

Vintage National Park Series
Book 1, The Road to Paradise
Book 2, Where the Fire Falls
Book 3, Ever Faithful

The Cactus Creek Challenge

Author: Erica Vetsch
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction
Publisher: Barbour Publishing Incorporated, 2015
Pages: 320
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Anything he can do, I can do better. At least that was what Cassie Bucknell thought before she pinned on Ben Wilder's badge and took to patrolling the streets of Cactus Creek, Texas. Cassie has been in love with Ben since primer school, but Ben treats her like a little sister. When they are picked to swap jobs for a month as part of the annual Cactus Creek Challenge in their Texas hometown, the schoolhouse is thrown into an uproar, the jail becomes a temporary bank vault, and Cassie and Ben square off in a battle of wills that becomes a battle for their hearts. 

Review: I expected fluff, but this was a level of hokey I don't typically see in this genre. The concept of a teacher and a sheriff trading spaces for a month in a frontier town in the 1880s was entirely unrealistic. 

What I did expect was the predictability.

At some point I was hooked. Such a quicky, fun read.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Author: David Wroblewski
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2009
Pages: 608
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life on his family's farm in remote northern Wisconsin where they raise and train an extraordinary breed of dog. But when tragedy strikes, Edgar is forced to flee into the vast neighboring wilderness accompanied by only three yearly pups. Struggling for survival, Edgar comes of age in the wild, and must face the choice of leaving forever or revealing the terrible truth behind what has happened.

Review: Most books are shorter than the number of pages it took this book to grow on me. I only stuck with it because my coworker recommended it, and I couldn't tell her I failed. Even if I didn't end up liking it, I still wanted to have an intelligent conversation and be able to defend my position. 

I read somewhere that this novel is the author's retelling of Hamlet, and even though it's been decades since I read that play, the parallels are clear. From that perspective, this novel fascinated me. 

It was also to my benefit to have someone with whom to discuss the novel. Talking about this with someone who likes complex, layered, slow-burn novels brought to light details I wouldn't have thought of and provided a different perspective. It was more like sitting in English class, rather than in a book club meeting. I enjoy having more thought-provoking conversations.

From the beginning I've struggled for the right adjectives to describe this novel. Intense? It's not a heart-racing novel. Depressing? Maybe here or there, but overall, no. Hopeful? Not really, it's one unfortunate event after another. I still don't know.

The conclusion of this novel gets a lot of criticism in the reviews I read, but my opinion is that it ended the only way it could.

Ultimately, I gave this novel 3 stars. Not a bad story or writing, but it could have been (and should have been) significantly shorter. If you're going to write a long novel you have to make sure it takes all of those pages to tell the story. In this case, it wasn't necessary.